Building construction



Feb. 9 1926.

R. ST. L. PEVERLEY BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed June 27,

Cil

Patented Feb. 9, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RALPH ST. L. PEVERLEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIG-NOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T() STRUCTURAL GYPSUIVI CORPORATIN, l.'1 NEW YORK, N. Y., A (lOBIEORAJlIIIOLN` DELAWARE.

suriname CONSTRUCTION."

To aU whom t may concern Be it known that I, RALPH Sfr. L. FEVER- LEY, a. citizen of the United States, and a r 'ident of the city, county, and Stateof lNew York, have invented an Improvement in Buildings,l Construction, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspeciiication, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

rlhis invention relates to a building or like construction and more particularly to the roof and floors thereof.

The invention has for its object to provide a roof or floor composed of individual preformed reinforced slabs of gypsum, concrete and like plastic material and of novel construction, as will be' described, with which a roof or floor of the required orl desired strength can be obtained with slabs composed of gypsum or like material having relatively little strength in and of itself, and which roof or floor can be erected with the slabs in a wet condition and yet havefthe roof or tloor free from bends or deflections thereinv and provided with `substantially flat or straight surfaces. j

To this end, the roof or floor is composed of a plurality of slabs of gypsum or like plastic materialhaving embedded in it a longitudinal reinforcing` member for the lower portion of the slab and also having en'ibedded in it a longitudinal strengthening member for the upper portion of the slab, and preferably having side flanges located at the bottom of the slab.

The side flanges of laterally adjacent slabs v .1o-operate to form a close joint between the slabs and thereby form a substantially continuous under surface for the oor or roof, and they also form the bottom wall of a space between the upper portions of the sides of the adjacent slabs to support plastic material used to ltill. said space and prevent said plastic material passing through the floor or roof between said adjacent slabs. Theslabs may be provided with end flanges which rest upon the purlins or other supcrts and form the bottom wall of a space vl'ietween the endsof longitudinally'adjacent slabs.

The strengthening member may and preferably will be supported at its ends by the longitudinalAv reinforcing member so as to form a truss within'each slab, and the -longitudinal reinforcing member may and pref erablv will be extended through the end walls of the slab above the end flanges. The

slab may be provided with transverse reinforcing members as will be describedv The particular features of the invention will be pointed out in the claim at the end section on the line plan of a lportion of the line 7, Fig. 6.

In the present instance, I have shown a sufficient portion of a Hoor orroof composed of a plurality of individualpreformedl or precast slabs al to enable the invention to be understood.

The slabs a are preferably composed of gypsum or like relatively light plastic ma'- terial havingrelatively little strength, and are formed or cast in suitable molds, not shown, to provide the same with relatively narrow side flanges 12, (see Fig. 5) located at the bottom of the slab, and preferably also with end flanges 13.

The slab a is provided with longitudinal reinforcing members 16 for the lower por tion of the slab and with strengtheningr members 21 for the upper portion 'of the slab.

The longitudinal reinforcement comprises, as shown, a. plurality of metal rods or Wires 16, which may and preferably will be inclined upwardly in opposite directions from near the center ofthe slab, and may and preferably'will be madeof suilicient length to extend through the end walls of the slab above the end flanges 13.

The strengthening members 21 for the upper portion of the slab may and preferably will. be made of sheet metal and bent n1g.1 is a plan of va portion of a roof or reinforcing member 1G and be supported at its ends by said reinforcing member, and thus form therewith a truss within the slab.

The slab a may be provided with transverse.-freinforcing members, comprising a member v14. located near the 'longitudinal center of the slab and (2o-operating with the longitudinal reinforcing member 16 -to place the latter under tension and to restrain it against upward displacement, and members 15 located upon the end flanges 13 and bonded therewith. l

The preformed:freintorced slabs t are erected upon 'the :building with the end flanges o'i longitudinally adjacent slabs resting on purlins or other supports 1S and preferably abuttingto ormithe bottom wall a space 19,.,an`d with the si'de il'anges 12 abutting and forming the bottom wall of a space 2O between the upper portion of the sides of the Vlaterally adjacent slabs.

It will be observed that the space 20 eX AVKtends across the span between the purlins or Vsupports 18, and is closed by the bottom Wall formedfby thefabutting side flanges 12,'there- 4by preventing waste of plastic material 25 4(seeFig. 5)l employed to till said space to provide the yfloor with a continuous upper surace,xand also avoiding damage by the plastic materialfpassing through the ',loor, in the absence ot' said side flanges.

The strengthening member 21 materially strengthens the upper' portion ofthe slab and is especially valuable when. the slab is made Y or' ,gypsum or-lihe relatively weak material as itginereases Athe resistance of the slab te` lvcompressivestressesgplaced upon it to such yextent-that the slab can be used substan tially as soon Vas poured or cast and while in a ver-y `wet condition, without :danger ot the slab bending orfbuekli-ng, and consequently without danger ot forming other than a flat or straight floor `or root', and the value of the strengthening member continues and adds great strength to the gypsum slab when the latter is dry and completely hardened. y

The longitudinal reinforcing `,members 16 -Iot' adjacent slabs may and preferably will interlock in the spaces 19 before the plastic `material 22 is filled in, and thereby provide terialis poured or cast, so that when the said material is cast orpoured into the mold, the anchoring memberQS will 'be embedded in the plastic material.

Claim: i 1

A Apreformed reinforced slab comprising .a slab 'ot plastic material provided with side flanges located Aat the Vbottom ot said slab. Vand havingl embedded `in it a longitudinal reinforcing member inclinedupwardly from near 'the center of the yslab Atoward its op- ,posite ends, and lhaving embedded .in it a longitudinal strengthening member :tor the upper portion of the slab which Vhasits 0pposite ends supported by the inelinedportions o'f the reinforcing 4member and terms wit'lrthe `lattera Atruss within said slab.

In testimony whereof, "Ihave signed my name -to this specification.

'RALPH ST. L. PEVERLEY. 

